


Hidden Meaning

by flinchflower



Series: Slash Me Twice [59]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, M/M, Psychic Abilities, Wincest - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-08
Updated: 2012-01-08
Packaged: 2017-10-29 04:15:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/315709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flinchflower/pseuds/flinchflower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt 59: Sculpture.  San Francisco arc continues.  A heart to heart discussion with Sam.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hidden Meaning

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Not for profit, simply a writing exercise. Herein lies Dean/Sam slash, in an AU timeline where John did not lose his life. John appears in parental context only. Follows in series from previous prompts, but stands alone if preferred.
> 
> No disrespect is intended towards the faith of Santeria, as a matter of fact, just the opposite - it's a very beautiful, complex culture.

Mathieu sank down onto the ottoman before Sam, speaking his name quietly. It took the boy a moment to blink awake, and Mathieu experienced a pleased relief, seeing the smile on the younger man’s face. So he hadn’t driven the child too hard, hadn’t alienated him. Good. Sam had avoided him, avoided his brother and father for the most part the day before, making it clear that if he had time to relax, he wanted to do it in his own way.

“Sorry,” Sam mumbled.

“Nothing to be sorry for, my boy. Supper will be on the table in a half an hour, I wanted to give you some time to wake up, and I have something for you.”

Sam sat up, feeling better than he had in a day or two, and noticing the first vestiges of his appetite waking up.

“Sounds good. I should wash up.”

“In a moment. This is for you, boy.” He handed over the unfinished walnut box. Sam’s fingers traced over the veve on the corner, and his glance went straight to Mathieu, curious. “It’s an altar box. Keep your sacred items inside – you may have to pad them, too. And add your own carvings to the lid, Sam. It’s not what an altar should be,” he sniffed, seeing Sam smile at the statement, “but it’s best for you traveling types. You want to make an offering, just scatter the herbs on the lid, burn a candle on one or more of the symbols that you collect there. There’s a little set of woodworking tools in there for you, too, keep them in the box. And you have one more thing to practice –how to properly offer the rum to the ancestors.”

Sam smiled and reached out before he thought, clasping Mathieu’s hand. The gesture told the older man more than any words out of Sam’s mouth had in the last two weeks.

“Thank you.” He let his eyes speak for him, to the depth of his thanks. "Do I need to do anything, before I put the elekes away tonight?”

“No. Come to supper now, little boy.”

Sam wandered slowly after Mathieu – the older man moved stiffly at times, and it occurred to the boy to wonder just how long the elder Winchesters had sat talking to him. The thought was quickly dismissed, though, at the heavenly scents from the kitchen – and the sight of a frosty mug of beer at his place at the table. He glanced quickly to Mathieu for confirmation.

“Yes, you’re allowed. Just the one, though. You need a few more days meditating before you indulge in much more than that, all right?”

“Not a problem,” he said easily. He knew that Dean and John were watching him through the meal, watching how much he ate, how fast he consumed the alcohol he’d been granted, and made up his mind not to let it bother him. If he shifted in his chair, the sensation from the last spanking Dean had given him provided a little reminder that he’d been less than tractable over the last week or so. Scooping up the last forkful of the delicately flavored rice, he sighed, knowing that it would be taken for contentment, rather than the regret he was actually feeling. He wondered if the others would understand what it was he was going through. _Then again,_ intruded an unwelcome thought, _Dad’s pushed Dean harder at the physical training, and Dean doesn’t usually give him attitude about it –and if he does, he gets the same treatment Dean’s given me. Shit._

Unaware of Sam’s thought, the elder Winchesters simply took satisfaction from the fact that the raccoon rings under Sam’s eyes had faded slightly with the earlier nap, and the consumption of a full meal brought some color to his face. If Dean had any say about the downtime they were offered, they’d be spending some time in the garden. If Sam wasn’t so exhausted, he’d want to go over his martial arts forms, maybe spar a little, and the sun would be good for him. And, he thought speculatively, Sam’d probly been asleep for a good hour or two, and if they both went up at the time he’d been sending Sam to bed… Well.

John noticed his oldest son looking just as pleased as the younger, and wondered to himself if he might not want to delay his own bedtime for a while, avoid whatever, ah, fun, was about to take place in the boys bedroom.

Sam looked energized, and Dean and John both relaxed, without thinking about it. They both wondered about the shy glances in Mathieu’s direction, and were relieved when Matty finally asked the boy what was up.

“I, um, I wondered if I could talk to you for a little while, before it gets late,” he said delicately. “You mentioned the night blooming part of the garden, I wanted to know what some of the things were, growing there.” There. An excuse. He was satisfied enough with his diplomatic phrasing that he missed the amused look that Dean and John exchanged.

Mathieu brightened. A compliment to his garden always made his day, and besides, he’d wondered if Sam might relax enough to ask some relationship advice of him. _Olodumare alone knows, the boy doesn’t have that many people he can actually ask, _and he’s more than glad to answer questions.__

“Perhaps we could slip out if your father and brother are willing to take over the cleanup? Yes? Let’s go then, little boy.” He repressed a laugh at the wry look the term brought to Sam’s face. The two of them strolled in the garden for some time, Sam letting Mathieu point out various flowers and facts about them. Some of the knowledge was new to him, and he took pleasure in the facts, things he likely would never need to know, but enjoyed learning. They sat together on a stone bench. Mathieu tried not to smirk, they were not three feet from Oshun’s shrine, the orisha who watched over lovers.

“I think you had a question for me, Sam, am I wrong?

The boy blushed, bringing a smile to Mathieu’s face. “Yes. I mean, no, you’re not wrong, I do have something I wanted to ask. About Dean and I,” he says shyly. “And the… well, the collar, you know? Is it safe, for me to be able to… release like that?”

The question went right to Mathieu’s heart. What a sweet child. Thinking of his family’s safety, his own safety, willing to sacrifice if Mathieu said no.

“It’s safe, Samuel. As a matter of fact, it’s one of the best things you can do for yourself, if you are perhaps feeling out of control. Dean – and John as well – have been taught how to impose protections upon you. It’s not just something to use when you’re unconscious, or unable to care for yourself. Dean can use it when he places the collar about your neck, little boy. As a matter of fact, if it’s something you wish, I’ll speak with him about it.”

Sam was quiet for a moment, blushing. “I do wish,” came the shy, quiet reply.

“And here’s what I wish,” Mathieu said, giving the child a kind look. “I wish for you to think about this, over the next few days, and know that I am willing to answer any question for you, for Dean. Understand how you feel, before you speak with him, though I don’t need to tell you that. He’s a man of action, not a man of thought as you are. Bear your half of the burden, before you approach him.”

Sam nodded. His face was still flushed. “Is it all right if we, well, if we-“ He started to stammer, embarrassed. He and Dean always avoided sex when they were staying with someone, with the possible exception of Bobby. This was a little different, though.

Mathieu chuckled quietly. “By all means, little boy, by all means. You’re practiced enough that you will not lose the protections you’ve built in a moment of ecstasy.” He could sense Sam’s embarrassment, the young man sat still, a sculpture in the new moonlight. “Inside with you now, it’s late, and your family could do with some time together, before we enforce your early bedtime.”

Sam rose. It took part of the walk back to the house for him to turn, and offer a shy thank you to the older man, who just smiled in reply. Sam was much too young for him, but still, in a way he envied Dean, who would see that beautiful young body by moonlight in a short while. He’d take care of distracting John, though he was sure the boys were used to running interference to find some precious time together. It was t he least he could do, because love for a hunter was hard to find, rare and precious, and he’d protect it as best he could.

**Author's Note:**

> Evanescence - Good Enough


End file.
